Andy Green
|death_date= |birth_place= |death_place= |placeofburial= |image= |caption= |allegiance= |serviceyears= |rank= Wing Commander |branch= |commands= |unit= |battles= |awards=Officer of the Order of the British Empire }} Wing Commander Andy D. Green OBE BA RAF (born 30 July 1962)Andy Green, UK, 1st to break sound barrier on land BrainyHistory is a British Royal Air Force fighter pilot and World Land Speed Record holder. RAF career Green was educated at St Olave's Grammar School and then gained an RAF scholarship to Worcester College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1983 with first class honours in mathematics.Oxford University Gazette, 6 November 1997 Later that year Green was regraded from acting pilot officer to pilot officer in the RAF. He qualified as a fighter pilot on F-4 Phantom and Tornado F3 aircraft. In 2003 Green was promoted to wing commander. He later became Officer Commanding Operations Wing at RAF Wittering. Green is also the captain of the RAF team at the Cresta Run,[http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=36478849-1143-EC82-2EC62E5EC71F72D8 "RAF Seizes Victory on Ice - Friday 30 January 2009"] where he uses an experimental French toboggan. Speed records Supersonic Green is the current holder of the World Land speed record, and the first person to break the sound barrier on land. On 25 September 1997 in ThrustSSC he beat the previous record in Black Rock Desert, USA, reaching a speed of . On October 15, 1997, 50 years and 1 day after the sound barrier was broken in aerial flight by Chuck Yeager, Green reached , the first supersonic record (Mach 1.016). His call sign was "Dead Dog". Green is now working with Richard Noble again on their new record attempt to break the mark with Bloodhound SSC. Road car His next land speed attempt was intended to be for MG in a specially modified MG F called the MG EX255,[http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group1/MGF_concepts/extreme.htm "Experimental & Record Attempt MG's"][http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cambs.mgoc/gall-EX.htm "It's Official! MG back at Bonneville with EX255"] however, due to the time required for modifications, the project did not finish on time and that attempt never happened. Diesel power Since then, Green's most recent challenge was the driving of the JCB Dieselmax car, attempting to take the Diesel Land Speed Record over . Having tested the vehicle on his own RAF base, Wittering, on 22 August 2006, he broke the previous record of (set in August 1973), after attaining an average speed of during two runs on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Twenty four hours later, Green broke his own record, achieving a speed of on 23 August 2006. Honours and awards He was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 New Year's Honours List.BBC News He was awarded the Segrave Trophy by the Royal Automobile Club in 1997. In 2006 he was awarded the John Cobb Trophy by the British Racing Drivers' Club for "a success of outstanding character"BRDC and an Honorary degree from Staffordshire University, July 2008. Racing experience On the 14 June 2009 Green gained his first ever circuit racing experience, whilst raising money for the Bloodhound SSC project, by participating in Round 4 of the Elise Trophy at Snetterton.http://www.elisetrophy.com/file_repository/c/c1/S3R4_Results.pdf See also *List of vehicle speed records *ThrustSSC *JCB Dieselmax *Bloodhound SSC References External links *European Car Magazine profile *Andy Green speaker profile Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Land speed record people Category:Royal Air Force officers Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Segrave Trophy recipients Category:BRDC Gold Star winners Category:British motivational speakers Category:People educated at St Olave's Grammar School Category:Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Category:Bonneville 300 MPH Club members